The once-ubiquitous paper boarding pass is already shunned by many travelers who prefer to use mobile boarding passes on their phones. Now pilot programs could render those obsolete too, as airlines aim to increase convenience for customers, and government agencies look to increase security.

This image provided by Delta shows a biometric fingerprint scan being used to confirm entry at one of the carrier's frequent-flier lounges.(Photo: Delta Air Lines)

JetBlue and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will test facial recognition for passengers boarding flights from Boston's Logan Airport to Aruba starting later this month. Volunteers will be photographed and their images will be searched against a Customs database of passport and other photos. Passengers who are cleared will get a signal from a screen above the camera, telling them they can go ahead and board.

JetBlue said it will be the first airline to work with Customs to test biometrics for identifying passengers during boarding.

Delta recently started letting come members of its loyalty program use fingerprints as proof of their identity to enter the airline's lounge at Reagan Washington National Airport.

The airline says that it plans to expand the test at National to let members use fingerprints to check a bag and board a plane.

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 lands at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in February 2017 as an Alaska Airlines' liveried Embraer E170 shadows it on a nearby runway.
Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAY

Portland (Ore.) International Airport's carpeting has achieved a bizarre semi-celebrity status. Here, the original is on the right, while the new (and not as well-liked) version is on the left. (February 2017)
Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAY

Alaska Airlines' "More to Love" Boeing 737-900, which commemorates the airlines' merger with Virgin America, departs Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in February 2017.
Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAY

The Columbia River appears out of the fog as an Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 preps to land at Portland (Ore.) International Airport in February 2017.
Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAY

An engine of a Korean Air Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner -- the first ever to be delivered to the carrier -- is seen during delivery ceremony festivities in North Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 22, 2017.
Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

Reprising a favorite photo from the past year, a former American Airlines Boeing 727 is towed across a Seattle avenue in preparation for a new construction project at the Museum of Flight in Seattle on March 28, 2015.
Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAY

Boeing's first 737 MAX narrowbody airplane sits on a ramp in Renton, Wash., on Dec. 28, 2015. The airplane is expected to take to the skies for the first time early in 2016.
Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAY

Despite working as a research laboratory for NASA, the agency's modified DC-8 still has some of the marks of its passenger service days with Alitalia and Braniff - such as this flight attendant panel seen during a flight on Dec. 5, 2015.
Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAY